Loss of Day Care at Elderly Persons homes sold to the private sector is wrong

Liberal Democrats on Leicestershire County Council are accusing the Conservative Administration of serious errors in their handling of the sale of nine Elderly People Homes.

Dr Sarah Hill, Lib Dem Adult Social Care Spokesperson said: "In their desperate haste to sell off these homes they have forgotten the frail and elderly residents who live in them and have failed to protect their true interests.Firstly, requiring the purchaser to keep these premises open for just three years as care homes is simply not long enough. Many current residents will still be alive when this covenant expires. What is their future then? After three years the buyer can sell the land for another use to maximise his profit regardless of the upheaval and anxiety this might cause to those who have their home there.

Secondly, we believe that the expected payment for nine homes will be far too low in the current climate. Because these valuable assets have been disposed of at reckless speed we don't believe that the council have realised their true value.

Thirdly, the Conservatives have done absolutely nothing to preserve the specialist day care and dementia services at The Limes in Hinckley or Curtis Weston House in Wigston. The contract should have contained a requirement to continue the day services so highly valued by those communities over the years.

It is clear that the Conservatives see these services as a problem they don't want and, as a result, they are selling off the homes highly valued by their local communities too cheaply and too quickly. Mr. Sprason speaks of people with care needs having 'somewhere local to meet their needs' yet he is letting Day Centres close."

Liberal Democrat Councillors are very critical of these decisions. Despite all the talk of personalisation and respect the Conservatives are getting rid of local day care in the same year they voted to cut employment support for adults with disabilities and ignore the wishes of service users by restricting eligibility to services.